I really liked the introduction in the presentation of "Munition Wages" by Madeline Ida Bedford because it poses a question that makes everyone think and wonder about. The question -if you had a million dollars, how would your life be different- creates an answer that really no one knows the answer to but in this poem, the extra money she got made her a happier person. The use of dialect in this poem creates a sort of happiness mood for the reader. It is a very interesting use of dialect because it is one sided and that's what makes this poem unique with the rest of the World War 1 poems. She is content with her life because she is making money during the war and living everyday to the fullest. She doesn't let the thought of death, and how she could die tomorrow, bring her happiness down.
Women's job during war is portrayed in the poem "Glory of Women" by Seigfried Sassoon. "While you are knitting socks to send your son/ his face is trodden deeper in the mud" (ll.. 13-14), this quote shows that Sassoon thinks that women's job during war is useless and that they don't really care about the soldiers because women are safely at home and the men are fighting for their lives. It seems as if Sassoon resents women during war because of how little they actually do. "You worship decorations" (l. 3), this quote shows his resentment because women are doing useless things like worshipping decorations while men are fighting at war.
I really thought the poem "Dulce de Decorum est" by Wilfred Owens was very interesting. The fact that the whole poem contradicts the title is very unique. The use of imagery really informs the reader how terrible war actually is and the imagery does a big part in contradicting the title. "And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,/ his hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin" (ll. 19-20), this quote has a lot of imagery in it that shows the reader what actually happens at war. I am one of those people that never knew how hard war was until I read this poem; I thought that the soldiers marched with their head held high and I never thought that they would be walking through the sludge like they are dying. This poem really gives me a whole new perspective on war and what actually happens there.
"The Wind on the Downs" by Marian Allen is about a woman who has a hard time coping with the fact that her fiancee is dead and has died in the war. The use of diction in this poem creates the elegiac tone because she is mourning the loss of her fiancee. The use of her word choice adds mood and attitude that creates the elegiac tone. The phrases "sluggish-moving" (l. 15) and "walk alone" (l. 20) emphasizes the mournful tone. Allen also uses apostrophes because she is directly addressing her fiancee who is dead, "it is impossible that you should die;/ I think of you the same and always shall" (ll. 16-17).
"Break of Day in the Trenches" by Isaac Rosenberg is a poem about the hardships the soldiers had to go through in the trenches. The reader can tell how bad the trenches were because the soldier says to the rat, "Strong eyes, fine limbs, haughty athletes,/ less chanced then you for life" (ll. 14-15). The soldier is telling that rat that the rat has a better chance of survival than him. Rosenberg uses symbolism with the poppy and it symbolizes death. The fact that his poppy is behind his ear, shows how close he is to death." Poppies whose roots are in men's veins/ Drop, and are ever dropping;/ But mine in my ear is safe,/ Just a little white with the dust" (ll. 23-26). Since poppies symbolize death, in this poem, this quote is showing that men are dying everywhere but he is still safe. The fact that his poppy is "a little white with dust" means that he is even closer to death.
"The Solider" by Rupert Brooke is about a soldier who loved his homeland, England. He loved it so much that even if he died at war, it was all for England. "If I should die, think only this of me:/That there's some corner of a foreign field/That is for ever England" (ll. 1-3), this quote is saying that where he dies, will be on foreign ground, but since he is buried there and he is a part of England then that foreign ground will be forever known as England. "Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day" (l. 12), this quote shows that he loves everything about England and he is proud to be fighting for a country that he loves.
No comments:
Post a Comment